To begin, a note from sociology.
David Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) claimed that all religions divide objects or phenomena into the sacred and the profane. The sacred objects are those which are extraordinary and are treated as if set apart from the routine course of events in daily life. The profane are those objects or phenomena seen as ordinary and constituting the reality of everyday living.
I like the musical idea better. First, from the LO’s website.
The Louisville Orchestra presents …
Sacred + Profane: Of Heavens + HumansTeddy Abrams explains about his concert program, “Our Sacred and Profane: Of Heavens and Humans concerts explore a broad range of musical approaches to describing and channeling both the most elated spiritual experiences of the species and our most visceral, grounded, and mortal conditions. Some of this music is designed to give humanity a glimpse of heaven and the immortal, while other music on this program serves to bind the species in our shared path as we contemplate our uncertain place in the universe.”
Then from the press release.
On Friday, March 10 at 11AM and Saturday, March 11 at 8PM at the Kentucky Center, Teddy Abrams and your Louisville Orchestra present a pluralistic concert of music from sacred traditions contrasted with music of composers with a decidedly secular focus. The music spans eras, from the 1600s to the present, and crosses genres from traditional Johann Sebastian Bach to Indonesian Gamelan selections. Jubilant Sykes, who performed the Celebrant in the LO’s 2015 presentation of Bernstein’s Mass, returns to Louisville to perform some of his favorite spirituals like, “Sometimes I Feel like a Motherless Child,” and “Ride on, King Jesus.”